Stephen A. Smith is delivering a rather extreme take this week about Ben Simmons.
The ESPN personality Smith went viral during Tuesday’s episode of “First Take” over his comments about the former NBA All-Star forward Simmons. During a discussion about the Los Angeles Lakers’ poor perimeter shooting, Smith quipped, “They ain’t quite Ben Simmons.”
When questioned by his co-hosts as to why he had brought up a player who was no longer in the NBA, Smith promptly went in Simmons.
“As long as ‘First Take’ is in existence, Ben Simmons will catch strays,” said Smith. “I ain’t apologizing for it to a damn soul. There is no bigger thief in the history of the NBA than that man.
“If Ben Simmons runs near a basketball arena, he should be arrested,” Smith added.
Simmons, the former No. 1 overall pick, notoriously earned a five-year, $177.2 million contract from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019. He did not come anywhere even remotely close to living up to that price tag though, appearing in just 166 total games over the life of the deal. Simmons also averaged a woeful 8.8 points per contest during that span and infamously failed to improve as a player, particularly when it came to developing a jump shot.
That said, Simmons was an All-Star, an All-NBA selection, and an All-Defensive selection prior to his extension. The 29-year-old, who is no longer in the league after going unsigned this season, was also far from the first (or the last) player to fail to live up to a very expensive contract. But for some reason, Smith especially loathes Simmons, whom he has taken many shots at on ESPN over the years.
